How To Pitch: Hemispheres

United's in-flight mag pays $1 a word for general-interest narratives

By Andrea Williams -
November 3, 2014 One of the most popular titles in the How To Pitch series this month

Circulation: 3 millionFrequency: MonthlySpecial issues: None

Background: If you've been on a commercial airplane lately, you've likely reached into the seat pocket in front of you and thumbed through the latest issue of the airline's magazine. Indeed, the full-color glossies are about as ubiquitous as those tiny bags of peanuts used to be. But while you can find a publication on every major airline, United's Hemispheres is definitely taking in-flights to new heights.

"I think of us as a general-interest magazine, as opposed to something that's more strictly in the travel category," says Jordan Heller, who came aboard a year ago as Hemispheres' editor-in-chief. The mag's signature "Three Perfect Days" feature highlights the ideal weekend travel itinerary in destinations across the globe, but in keeping with the vision of the EICs who came before him, Heller leans toward the kind of informative, well-reported, non-niche journalism one might find in Vanity Fair or Men's Journal.